The widow of an exotic animal owner who released dozens of creatures from their eastern Ohio farm before killing himself has told state officials she relocated the surviving animals to another farm in the state.

The widow of an exotic animal owner who released dozens of creatures from their eastern Ohio farm before killing himself has told state officials she relocated the surviving animals to another farm in the state.

Marian Thompson says in a Dec. 30 letter obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press through a records request that she transferred two adult leopards, two primates and a bear to another farm.

The five animals were among those quarantined by the state after Thompson’s husband Terry released them in Zanesville in 2011. Forty-eight others were killed by authorities fearing for the public’s safety.

Thompson also says she moved two young leopards that weren’t released to a separate address because of continued threats toward them and the property.

Petting zoo equipment and ponies will be up for auction from the estate of a suicidal man who released dozens of exotic animals in eastern Ohio almost two years ago.

The items are among thousands from Terry Thompson’s estate that could be purchased Wednesday at his farm in Zanesville.

Jeff Koehler, owner of SE Ohio Auctions, says among the highlights of the auction are Thompson’s vintage cars, which include a 1934 Ford Coupe and a 1967 Chevy Chevelle. More than 60 cars will be up for bid, along with motorcycles, car parts and an Amish buggy.

Other pieces include a bulldozer, an aluminum fence and boxes of magazines dating back to the 1970s.

New guidelines regulating exotic animals in Ohio will require owners to meet new caging, safety and caretaking standards.

The new rules were reviewed and OK’d Wednesday by the state’s legislative rule-setting committee.

The regulations come as the state prepares to begin issuing new permits this fall to owners. Permit holders must obtain the authorization document by 2014 to keep their dangerous wildlife.

Owners will have to pass background checks, pay permit fees, obtain liability insurance and show inspectors they can properly contain their animals. Ohio officials could seize the animals if owners are found housing them without a permit.

Polly Britton is the lobbyist for the Ohio Association of Animal Owners. She says a problem with the proposed rules is the required sterilization of certain animals.

Several owners of exotic animals in Ohio are telling a federal appeals court that a new state law unreasonably infringes on their right to keep their creatures.

The owners’ lawyer filed an appeal brief late Friday with the 6th U.S. District Court of Appeals in Cincinnati.

Attorney Robert Owens says gaining an exemption from the law requires private owners to join a zoological group opposed to their existence.

A federal judge in Columbus upheld the law last year.

U.S. District Court Judge George Smith had said the court recognizes some businesses may be harmed and some owners’ beloved animals may be taken, but the owners failed to prove constitutional rights were violated.

Ohio’s law was enacted following the 2011 release of dozens of wild creatures by a suicidal owner.

A state agency on Thursday took reporters to a place where few people have been â€“ and even fewer will go in the future.

The exotic animals facility in Reynoldsburg was custom-built from the ground up â€“ there was no template or model to base it on. Department of Agriculture Director David Daniels says the building the agency ended up with is flexible in its design and secure in its operations.

â€œThis building is about 20,000 square feet. We have 30 large animal enclosures here. We have four primate enclosures. We have a room here that will house snakes and reptiles when that regulatory authority kicks in,” Daniels says.

The big animal cages are made of six gauge wire and have six padlocks each. A transport cage is locked into place against the cage opening to move the animal in. There are heavy steel panels separating the cages that can be opened from outside them, so an animal can be moved to the adjacent cage while its cage is cleaned and food and water is provided.

A cage must be closed and locked before another can be opened, and never is a caretaker and an animal inside a cage at the same time.

Daniels says if an animal would get out of its cage, there are 17 cameras and motion sensors that monitor the cages and take and send pictures to staff if thereâ€™s movement. Then there are gated locked doors inside the rooms and in the main area, and there are two exterior fences, the taller one 12 feet tall and electrified.

But Daniels says all that security isnâ€™t just for the animals.

We are just as concerned about whatâ€™s in this building as what is outside this building. We want to make sure that there are, hate to say it, but while weâ€™re worried about an animal getting out, weâ€™re also worried about people getting in.

No animal will ever go outside. But the facility is climate controlled and has warm and cooler areas in each of the bigger enclosures.

Thereâ€™s room to add some more cages if necessary, but the thought is that the facility will only be needed for around 10-15 years, because Ohioâ€™s new exotic animals law bans new ownership of animals. Current owners will be able to keep their animals but not get new ones, and have to meet state standards for containing them or state veterinarian Tony Forshey says the state can take them and bring them here.

This is not a zoo. Itâ€™s more like a humane society or a rescue-type facility and so itâ€™s for the temporary housing. Itâ€™s our intent to bring these animals in, give them the best care, make sure theyâ€™re healthy.

And Daniels restates that very clearly â€“ itâ€™s not a zoo, itâ€™s a holding place for animals that have been seized or are in the process of being transferred out of state.

â€œThis is a facility that we have to aid us in our regulatory responsibility over animals that are not permitted or are not cared for. When this is all said and done, I will not have access to this building. This will only be accessed to those who need to be back here,” Daniels says.

And Daniels also says there will be no public announcements when animals arrive at the facility â€“ only law enforcement will be notified, Daniels says, to protect curious residents from trying to get inside to see them. The legislature allowed $3.5 million dollars to build the facility.

Daniels says itâ€™s not completely done, but the contract guaranteed the building would cost $2.9 million. Until there are animals in it, Daniels says itâ€™s impossible to estimate the daily operations cost.

]]>http://wosu.org/2012/news/2013/03/01/state-gives-preview-of-exotic-animal-facility/feed/57exotic animals,Muskingum County,ohio,reynoldsburg,Terry Thompson,zanesvilleA state agency on Thursday took reporters to a place where few people have been â€“ and even fewer will go in the future: The state's new exotic animal facility in Reynoldsburg.A state agency on Thursday took reporters to a place where few people have been â€“ and even fewer will go in the future: The state's new exotic animal facility in Reynoldsburg.WOSU Newsno3:35Year In Review: The Biggest Bills To Clear The Legislature In 2012http://wosu.org/2012/news/2012/12/24/year-in-review-the-biggest-bills-to-clear-the-legislature-in-2012/
http://wosu.org/2012/news/2012/12/24/year-in-review-the-biggest-bills-to-clear-the-legislature-in-2012/#commentsMon, 24 Dec 2012 12:26:53 +0000Bill Cohenhttp://wosu.org/2012/news/?p=41131

Ohio lawmakers debated hundreds of proposals this year and gave approval to dozens. WOSU has this look back at the year's biggest bills.

They debated hundreds of proposals for new laws, and agave their approval to dozens. Today, we begin a multi-part series of year-in-review reports from our Statehouse news bureau about what happened in state government and politics. Click the play button above for Bill Cohen’s look at some of the major bills legislators approved, most of them with bi-partisan votes.

]]>http://wosu.org/2012/news/2012/12/24/year-in-review-the-biggest-bills-to-clear-the-legislature-in-2012/feed/0exotic animals,General Assembly,John Kasich,lawmakesr,legislature,Muskingum County,ohio,pension reform,statehouse,Terry Thompson,zanesvilleOhio lawmakers debated hundreds of proposals this year and gave approval to dozens. WOSU has this look back at the year's biggest bills.Ohio lawmakers debated hundreds of proposals this year and gave approval to dozens. WOSU has this look back at the year's biggest bills.WOSU Newsno4:06Columbus Federal Judge Upholds Ohio’s New Exotic Animal Lawhttp://wosu.org/2012/news/2012/12/20/columbus-federal-judge-upholds-ohios-new-exotic-animal-law/
http://wosu.org/2012/news/2012/12/20/columbus-federal-judge-upholds-ohios-new-exotic-animal-law/#commentsThu, 20 Dec 2012 17:19:02 +0000The Associated Presshttp://wosu.org/2012/news/?p=40969

A federal judge has upheld Ohio's new restrictions on exotic animals after several owners sued the state over the law. The judge in Columbus ruled Thursday the owners failed to prove constitutional rights were violated.

A federal judge has upheld Ohio’s new restrictions on exotic animals after several owners sued the state over the law.

The judge in Columbus ruled Thursday the owners failed to prove constitutional rights were violated.

Seven owners had claimed the law forces them to join private associations with which they disagree and possibly give up their animals without compensation. They also challenged a requirement that animals be implanted with a microchip, which would allow the creatures to be identified if they get lost or escape.

Ohio officials have defended the law as a common sense measure to address the growing public safety problem of private ownership of exotic animals.

State lawmakers passed the tougher restrictions after a suicidal owner released dozens of creatures from his farm in Zanesville last year

A newly formed board created by Ohio’s law on exotic animals is slated to meet this week to discuss caging standards and requirements for dangerous wildlife.

The Dangerous and Restricted Animals Advisory Board plans to hold its first meeting Wednesday to set temporary housing rules for regulated animals, such as tigers, alligators and bears.

The panel will decide the proper size of the animals’ cages and how they should be maintained, among other rules. More permanent standards will be put in place when permits are required in 2014.

The law requires owners to register their exotic animals with Ohio officials by Nov. 5. If they don’t, owners could face a first-degree misdemeanor for the first offense, and a fifth-degree felony for each subsequent offense.

The Muskingum county sheriff who oversaw the response to a massive exotic animal release is visiting Washington to support a federal bill that would restrict the private ownership and breeding of lions, tigers and other big cats.

Sheriff Matt Lutz is scheduled today to brief leaders about what happened when a suicidal owner apparently released lions, tigers and other exotic animals that were killed by authorities near Zanesville last fall.

Lutz says the federal legislation would help authorities track the cats and conduct inspections.

The briefing is also expected to include actress and animal activist Tippi Hedren, who’s best known for being terrorized by crows in Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds.” Hedren keeps rescued big cats at her California preserve and helped put together the federal legislation.